Broken Night
by ncismka233
Summary: When Tony and Gibbs confront the killer of a Navy Commander, the killer injures Tony and is killed by Gibbs. Gibbs has to now get an injured Tony back to the car through a heavily wooded are in the middle of the night. Gibbs/Tony Father/Son contains some Tony/Abby Brother/Sister Contains some swearing.
1. Chapter 1

It was a beautiful fall evening in Shenandoah State Park in late November of 2004, a young man with short brown hair and beautiful blue eyes was climbing a tree while a beautiful young woman with curly brown hair and hazel eyes watched him.

"If you go any higher you're gonna kill yourself if you fall, Justin." The young woman said.

"Rachel, how many times do I have to say it? I am not going to fall; I'm a commander in the Navy. They don't come more professional than me." Justin said. Rachel rolled her eyes and said,

"Just don't get hurt Justin, it's at least three miles to the nearest road."

"I promise you, I will not get hurt." Immediately following that statement from Justin, a loud gunshot rang out from what sounded like a mile away.

"What was that?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know." Justin said as he looked over a branch. "Maybe a hunter?" Justin kept looking over a branch until another shot rang out and hit Justin in the face. "Ah!" Justin cried out as he fell out of the tree and hit the ground hard. When Justin hit the ground, he landed on his back. Rachel could hear the cracking of bones from Justin's body as she ran towards him.

"Justin! Are you okay?!" Rachel said frantically as she took her gloves off and put two fingers on Justin's neck. When she did not feel a pulse, she ran towards a cabin that she and Justin passed on the way to the trees. At NCIS, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo was in the elevator heading up to the squad room. He rubbed his head since he was not feeling very well that morning. Even though Tony knew he was sick, he felt that he could still work since he didn't feel completely sick. When the elevator reached the squad room, Tony stepped off and started to walk towards his desk. When Tony saw Ziva and McGee already at their desks, he said,

"Morning Ziva, McTechno."

"Hey Tony." McGee replied. Tony looked over at Ziva to see her reading a book with a focused look on her face.

"What are reading, the dictionary?" Tony asked.

"No, the constitution." Ziva said while still looking at the book.

"Oh that's right, Miss Ziva David is applying to be a U.S. citizen." Tony said as he flung his bag from his shoulder to the empty floor space by his desk. Tony leaned back on his desk chair and closed his eyes to rest since he had trouble sleeping last night and only got three hours of sleep. A few minutes later Ziva said,

"Uh, Tony."

"Not now Ziva." Tony said while still closing his eyes. Tony soon realized that Gibbs might be in front of him. He slowly opened his eyes and sure enough Gibbs was standing in front of Tony's desk holding his usual cup of coffee.

"I wasn't sleeping boss, I was meditating."

"Meditate on your own time, DiNozzo." Gibbs said as he walked to his desk. "Grab your gear. We got a dead Navy Commander in Shenandoah. DiNozzo, gas the truck, Ziva you're driving." Gibbs instructed.

"Boss why are you letting her drive, did you wake up this morning wanting to die?" Tony asked Gibbs.

"I was going to ask you the same thing DiNozzo." Gibbs said. Ziva and Tony looked at each other as the elevator doors closed and Ziva had an evil and mischievous look in her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

When the NCIS van pulled on the scene, everyone got out when the vehicle stopped. When Ziva saw everyone get out of the van, she noticed they all looked disoriented and said,

"Was my driving really that bad?" She paused for a minute and then said, "Never mind don't answer that."

"I'll answer it, yes." Tony said as he rubbed the front of his head which was throbbing. Gibbs blinked hard and then looked around to see what was going on. He saw one officer still putting up crime scene tape, another officer talking to two people who Gibbs assumed were the witnesses and an officer walking towards him.

"Good morning Special Agent …?" The officer said as he kept walking towards Gibbs.

"Gibbs, and you are?" Gibbs said.

"Officer Lawrence, Virginia State Police." Officer Lawrence replied.

"What happened here Officer Lawrence?" Gibbs asked.

"Well we got a call from dispatch last night around 1900 about a guy who was shot while climbing a tree. When we identified him as Navy, we called you" Officer Lawrence explained.

"Who called it in?" Gibbs asked.

"Hunter McCormick, he said that a young woman came running into his store all panicked about her boyfriend not breathing after he fell from the tree."

"Where's his store, Officer?" Gibbs asked.

"It's about a mile from here."

"DiNozzo, photos, McGee, help Ducky, Ziva you're with me." Gibbs ordered as he wrote down what Officer Lawrence told him. Gibbs walked up to Rachel and Hunter and said,

"Special Agent Gibbs and Officer David, NCIS. Can you tell us what happened?"

After Ziva and Gibbs finished interviewing Rachel, they walked over to Ducky.

"What do we got, Duck?" Gibbs asked Ducky.

"Well Jethro, these bruises on his face were delivered post-mortem. Also the young lad has a fracture in his right arm and a single gunshot wound to the neck." Ducky explained.

"Time of death?" Gibbs asked Ducky with a hopeful tone.

"I was just determining that. Mr. Palmer?" Ducky said.

"Around ten hours ago Doctor." Palmer said as he pulled out the liver probe. The team finished processing the scene and then headed back to their vans. Palmer was helping Ducky wheel the gurney to the van; Tony and McGee were carrying the evidence to the other van, and Ziva was talking to Gibbs while walking towards the van.

"Boss, please don't tell me she's driving again." Tony pleaded as he closed the trunk.

"Nope, she's not." Gibbs said. Gibbs heard Tony say,

"Thank you God." That made Gibbs smile and then he said to Tony,

"I'm driving." The happy look on Tony's face changed to a scared look.

Back at NCIS, Tony, Ziva, and McGee were at their desks again. Ziva was on the phone trying to get a search warrant for their victim, Commander Justin Tompkins's apartment. McGee was pulling up bank statements on Commander Tompkins. Tony had just finished doing a background check on Tompkins and was now rubbing the sides of his head. After Ziva hung up the phone, Tony said;

"Ziva I think you gave me a concussion." Tony said in a gruff tone.

"I doubt that Tony. Besides I wasn't the one driving back at eighty miles an hour." She said. Tony saw Gibbs walking up behind Ziva as she was saying that and looked down at Tompkins file. Ziva figured Gibbs was standing behind her and said,

"Which got us here so fast." Ziva said as she turned around to face Gibbs. Gibbs gave her a half smile as he walked in to the squad room and said,

"What do we got?"

"Commander Justin Tompkins." Tony began. "He lives in Norfolk but has been deployed to Iraq for a year and got back two weeks ago."

"Family?" Gibbs asked.

"Tompkins is not married and doesn't have kids but he does have a sister named Emma Carsley. Also his parents were killed in a car accident seven years ago." McGee replied. Gibbs stared at the plasma and then said,

"What about phone records?" McGee answered,

"He has made several calls to two phone numbers. One is registered to a Peter Burns and the other is to Hunter's. Hunter's is the store that Rachel Matthews went to after Tompkins fell out of the tree." Ziva hung up the phone and said,

"Gibbs, Tompkins' sister and brother in-law are here."

"DiNozzo find Peter Burns, McGee help Abby, Ziva you're with DiNozzo."

"Good morning Mrs. Matthews, I'm special agent Gibbs."

"Good morning agent Gibbs, I'm Rachel and this is my husband, Brad."

"You have our condolences Mr. and Mrs. Matthews."

"Thank you." Emma replied.

"So what kind of guy was your brother?"

"He was a great guy, I can't think of anyone who would want to kill him." Emma said as she started to tear up.

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"I saw him about two weeks ago when he got back from deployment."

"Was he acting strange?"

"He seemed distracted about something but I didn't talk to him about it because he usually sorts problems out on his own."

"Did you know your brother was seeing someone?"

"I didn't, I stayed at his apartment the night he got back from Iraq so we could catch up but he didn't mention anything about a girl. I haven't seen him since last Sunday."

"Alright thanks." Gibbs said as he walked out of the conference room. Gibbs went to get a caf-pow and then went to Abby's lab.

"Gibbs!" Abby cried out. When Gibbs heard a panicked tone in Abby's voice, he picked up his pace to try to see what Abby was doing. He walked into the back of her lab and slowed down when he saw Abby trying to get out of what looked like a yoga position.

"Can you untangle me?" Abby asked. Gibbs helped her out of the position and up off the floor as Abby was saying,

"I took a yoga class over the weekend and thought I'd try to see what it would feel like to do Yoga surrounded by my babies. Although my babies can't actually do yoga I thought I would teach them, mainly because I was bored and …"

"Abbs." Gibbs said when Abby was back on her feet. "What do you got?"

"I analyzed the blood on the commander's arm and face, and I found some that does not belong to him." Abby said.

"Whose is it?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm not sure yet, but the type is O +." Abby said.

"Anything else?"

"Not yet."

"Thanks Abbs, call me when you find something." Gibbs said as he handed her a caf-pow.

Gibbs walked out of the room and headed back to the squad room. He could hear Tony and McGee having a conversation.

"All I'm saying is that since were friends, you should let me stay at your place until they fix the boiler in my apartment." Tony said.

"Tony do you remember the last time you stayed at my place? You ate half of the food in my fridge and kept me up all night with your movies." McGee protested.

"Ziva could I …?" Tony started to ask but then Ziva interrupted him,

"No you can't stay at my place I have a date this weekend." This made Tony change the subject.

"Interesting, who's the special guy?"

"That's none of your business Tony." Ziva said. Tony started on a rant about an old girlfriend.

"I remember this one girl I dated back in college, she was always in to my business. I tried to tell her …"

Gibbs slapped Tony on the back of his head to make him get back on topic.

"Ow, Sorry boss." Gibbs looked at Tony and said,

"What do you got?"

"I don't have anything but McGee found something." Tony said. Gibbs looked at McGee to see what he had.

"I pulled phone records on Peter burns and saw that he made several calls to Hunter's just like Tompkins. Also Tompkins credit cards showed multiple charges to Hunter's." McGee explained. Gibbs studied the plasma screen and said,

"McGee, do a background check on Peter Burns."

"On it." McGee said.

"Ziva set up an interview through MTAC with Tompkins' CO. DiNozzo you're with me." Gibbs ordered.

"Where are we going boss?" Tony asked as he grabbed his gear.

"Hunter's, were going to see what Tompkins was doing calling them." Gibbs replied as he and Tony walked in to the elevator.

"Who's driving?" Tony asked Gibbs.

"Me." Gibbs said. Tony noticed Gibbs had pressed the elevator button for the floor that goes down to autopsy.

"I thought we were going to Hunter's." Tony said.

"We are, were just gonna see what Ducky found first." Gibbs replied. The two agents stepped out of the elevator once they reached autopsy. They walked through the automatic doors as Palmer and Ducky were finishing a conversation.

"I would never have thought someone could relieve so much stress that way doctor." Palmer said.

"Should we come back?" Tony asked with a slightly concerned look on his face.

"Oh Tony don't worry we were just talking about golfing techniques and how hard the ball can be hit." Palmer explained while smiling. Gibbs and Tony stared at him which made Palmer stop smiling and say,

"I'm going to bring these DNA samples to Abby." Ducky watched Palmer leave and then he turned to Gibbs and said,

"He means well."

"What have we got so far, Duck?" Gibbs asked.

"Well Jethro, for starters our commander was definitely shot in the back at least three times." Ducky began. He walked Gibbs over to the x-rays to explain more. "One of the bullets hit his neck right here. Even if he had survived he would have most certainly been paralyzed."

"Anything else?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, whoever gave him these bruises used their hands since there are no distinctive object markings. They are also very strong individual. The cause of death is definitely blunt force trauma to the head."

"Thanks Duck." Gibbs said as he and Tony walked out of autopsy and back to the elevator.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony and Gibbs were now in the sedan heading to Hunter's. Tony was looking at the GPS and realized that they were going really far out. When Gibbs stopped the car Tony asked,

"Why'd you stop?"

"Cause I ran out of road." Gibbs replied as he looked into a wooded area. "Call McGee, get him to find out where we need to go."

"On it." Tony said as he pulled his phone out.

"Hello Probie … I wasn't going to ask that … okay maybe I was but … okay McGee you want to know how a boiler works?" Tony said as he talked too McGee. Gibbs stared at Tony and said,

"DiNozzo!"

"Right, Gibbs wanted me to call and ask you how to get to Hunter's … well we did bring the GPS but we ran out of road … are you sure … listen McSelfish!" Tony continued, but then Gibbs took his cell phone, closed it and said,

"DiNozzo, what are we dealing with?" Gibbs asked impatiently.

"McGee said it's five miles to Hunter's if we walk directly straight from where we are." Tony said.

"Alright let's go." Gibbs said.

"We're gonna walk?" Tony asked.

"You got a better idea of how to get there DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked back.

"Well we could try to magically grow wings and fly." Tony said. Gibbs stared at him with an expression that Tony knew meant, are you an idiot?

"Or we could walk." Tony said.

"Yeah good idea DiNozzo. Hope you brought hiking boots." Gibbs said.

He and Tony grabbed their backpacks and started walking. Back at NCIS, Abby was running a DNA test on a substance found on the victim's hand. When she identified the substance, Abby called Gibbs.

"Hi Gibbs … Ducky sent me a substance he found on Tompkins' hand and I just identified it as insect repellent … wait Gibbs, also Ducky found poison ivy on Tompkins' legs … mainly from his shin all the way down to his toes." Gibbs hung up.

"What did Abby say?" Tony asked.

"She found bug spray on Tompkins' hands and Ducky found poison ivy on his legs and feet." Gibbs said.

"Ah Damn, I hate mosquitos and poison ivy." Tony said. "Last year when McGee and I searched that wooded area for evidence, I got mosquito bites all over my legs."

"Was that the same time McGee got poison ivy?" Gibbs asked. Tony laughed and said,

"Yeah, Palmer told me Probie also had poison ivy on his nuts." Gibbs smirked. He and Tony walked for another hour and a half before they found a tall cabin with a sign that read, Hunter's.

"Oh thank god!" Tony said with relief. "Another mile and I'd be dead." He and Gibbs walked up the stairs to the door. Tony knocked on the door and said,

"NCIS, we need to talk." Tony looked at Gibbs as they waited. Tony quickly drew his gun when he saw a broken lock; Gibbs followed him in with his gun drawn too. A young man walked out from the back and said,

"Whoa, don't shoot! I work here." Gibbs and Tony put their guns away.

"Who are you?" Gibbs asked.

"Lieutenant Peter Burns I work for Hunter McCormick."

"Where's McCormick?"

"He went home; he said he needed to take the day off." Peter Burns said. Gibbs and Tony kept interviewing him while Abby was trying her yoga positions again while a fingerprint was running through AFIS. Abby was standing on her head when Ziva and McGee walked in. Ziva and McGee looked at each other.

"Abby?" McGee said.

"Oh hey, McGee. Hi, Ziva." Abby said while still on her head.

"Abby what is it exactly you're doing?" Ziva asked.

"I'm trying to get the blood flowing to my head so I can concentrate harder today." Abby said.

"I thought that's what the caf-pows were for?" McGee said.

"Do you have one?" Abby asked. McGee held up the caf-pow he had in his hand. Abby got up, grabbed the caf-pow from McGee and walked towards her computer.

"The finger print that I pulled from Tompkins' backpack belongs to …" Abby trailed off when she saw there was still no match.

"Belongs to who, Abby?" Ziva asked.

"I don't know, I don't have a match yet." Abby said disappointed. Abby looked at the plasma as the finger print was still running through AFIS. Back at Hunter's, Tony and Gibbs were still talking to Burns.

"Do you know Justin Tompkins?" Gibbs asked.

"Oh great, what that nut job do now?" Burns asked.

"I'll take that as a yes." Tony said.

"How do you know him, Lieutenant?" Gibbs asked.

"He came in to the shop one day about a year ago and asked for some hunting rifles. We got talking, found out we were both in the navy and became good buddies." Peter said.

"Why are you calling your buddy a nut job?" Tony asked.

"I found out he was sleeping with my sister about a month ago. We got in a fight, he took off and I haven't seen him since last month. I swear the next time I see him, I am going to shoot him." Peter said angrily.

"Well you don't have to worry about that." Tony said.

"Why?" Peter asked.

"He's dead." Gibbs said in a low tone.

"What, How?" Peter asked in shock.

"He was shot, in the back." Gibbs replied.

"I'm assuming I'm a suspect now?" Peter asked.

"That's right. Let's go nut job." Tony said as he put Burns in handcuffs.


	4. Chapter 4

Back at NCIS, Lieutenant Burns was in interrogation while Tony and Gibbs were getting checked by Ducky for poison ivy. When Ducky cleared them, Tony followed Gibbs up to interrogation. Gibbs walked to the interrogation room as Tony walked to the observation room. Tony entered observation and saw McGee already in there.

"Hey you get any poison ivy?" McGee asked.

"Nope, I'm not like you probie. I don't get poison ivy on my nuts." Tony said.

"How do you know about that?" McGee asked surprised.

"Palmer, he owed me twenty bucks but then he told me about you so I let him off." Tony explained. McGee looked back at Tony with an annoyed look. Tony didn't pay much attention to McGee; he was more interested in watching Gibbs interrogate Lieutenant Burns.

"Okay we may have gotten in a fight a month ago, but it wasn't that big of a deal." Burns said. Gibbs kept staring at Burns as he said,

"You sure about that? When one of you ends up at the ER and the other is questioned by Metro Police, it's a big deal Burns. What was the fight about anyway?"

"I found out that he was sleeping with my sister so I confronted him about it. He was drunk that night so he took a swing at me then one thing led to another and he ended up breaking my wrist and dislocating my shoulder."

"Where were you last night around 1900?" Gibbs asked.

"With my girlfriend." Burns said. Gibbs pulled out a pen and notepad and put it out in front of Burns then said,

"Give me her name and number." After Burns wrote down his girlfriend's name and number, Gibbs walked out of the room. Tony and McGee walked out of observation when they saw Gibbs start to leave.

"McGee check his alibi, DiNozzo take Burns down to Ducky."

"Why?" Tony asked.

"I want to make sure he was really in a fight." Gibbs said. Tony nodded and turned around to take Burns down to Ducky. Gibbs went to get coffee and a caf-pow then headed to Abby's lab. Gibbs walked in to the lab to see Abby laying her back with Bert behind her head while prints were running through AFIS.

"Abby?" Gibbs said. As Abby jumped up startled, Bert made the farting sound he always makes.

"Gibbs! What did I tell you about sneaking up on me?" Abby asked impatiently. Gibbs smiled at her and asked,

"What do you got?"

"Not much sleep but that's okay." Abby took the caf-pow from Gibbs' hand, walked over to her computer and said,

"It's so weird Gibbs, the print that I pulled from Tompkins' backpack hasn't matched anyone in the Navy so far."

"So we're looking for someone not in the Navy." Gibbs said as he walked out.

"Well that would be my guess but I'm not a special agent investigator like you are." Abby said as she kept staring at her computer screen. She turned around and saw that Gibbs had left. She turned around to Bert and said,

"I really hate when he does that." Gibbs walked into the squad room as he hung up his phone.

"Burns' alibi checks out, he was with his girlfriend, Meghan Oliver." Gibbs said. Tony stared at his computer screen with a stern confused look. Gibbs sat at his desk then looked over at Tony and asked,

"Something wrong DiNozzo?"

"The number that Burns gave you is registered to Meghan Oliver but phone records are the only thing on her record. Her record started six days ago."

"I just got off the phone with Oliver's phone company, they said that her phone was set up by some guy who said that he was her husband." Ziva said.

"Who?" Gibbs asked.

"Hunter McCormick." Ziva replied. "Sounds like McCormick was lying in his teeth."

"Lying _through_ his teeth." Tony corrected as Gibbs got up from his chair and said,

"Ziva go talk to Burns' sister."

"About what?"

"Burns got in a fight with Tompkins about him sleeping with his sister. See if she knew about it."

"Alright." Ziva said as she grabbed her coat and walked out.

"DiNozzo, you're with me we're gonna pay Hunter McCormick a visit." Gibbs said.

"Boss it's almost midnight." Tony said sleepily. Gibbs stared at him until Tony got up and said,

"I'll go get coffee."

"Bring me a cup." Gibbs said.

"On it." Tony said as he walked away. As Gibbs put his coat on, he looked over at McGee's desk to see him asleep. Gibbs smirked as he walked over to McGee's desk.

"McGee!" Gibbs said in a loud voice. McGee woke up immediately and said,

"Sorry boss, it's just I've been waiting for Tompkins CO to send me his service record."

"You get it yet?" Gibbs asked as McGee refreshed his inbox. McGee read the email then looked up at Gibbs and said,

"Tompkins served in the same unit as Lieutenant Burns three years ago."

"Good work, call if find anything else." Gibbs said as he walked out of the squad room. He walked to the elevator only to have the doors open immediately. When the elevator doors opened, Gibbs saw Tony sleeping on the side of the elevator.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs said loudly. Tony jumped and said,

"Sorry boss, here's your coffee." Gibbs accepted the coffee and took a sip as the elevator doors closed. A few seconds later, Tony's phone rang.

"DiNozzo … okay well why are you calling me, don't you usually call Gibbs?" Tony said as he put his phone on speaker so Gibbs could hear Abby.

"I do but I haven't seen you much today and whenever I ask Gibbs if I can talk to one of you guys, he hangs up. He could just put his phone on speaker but he doesn't know how to since he can barely operate his phone …"

"Abbs," Gibbs said as Tony handed him his phone. "What do you got?"

"Hi Gibbs, that fingerprint I've been trying to get a match on, got a hit on a match from the crime database."

"Who does it belong to?"

"Hunter McCormick, he has a misdemeanor charge for reckless driving."

"That's good work Abby." Gibbs hung up and gave Tony his phone back. When Gibbs looked over at Tony to give him his phone back, he noticed Tony looked pale and he was sweating.

"Tony, you okay?"

"I'm fine boss." Tony replied. Gibbs expected that answer because he knew Tony well enough to know that Tony does not like to admit when he's feeling weak.


	5. Chapter 5

When the agents reached their floor they got in the blue sedan and drove off to Hunter's. As Gibbs was driving he looked over at Tony every few minutes to see if he was okay, most of the time Tony was either looking straight ahead or resting his head on the headrest. When Tony and Gibbs reached the end of the road, Gibbs stopped the car and they both got out starting walking towards Hunter's. An hour passed before Tony and Gibbs were ten feet away from Hunter's. When a loud gunshot came from inside the store, Tony and Gibbs ran to the door while they pulled out their guns.

"Tony, take the back." Gibbs said is whisper. After Tony left, Gibbs didn't even hesitate to kick the door down. When the agents entered the room, they saw Lieutenant Burns who was lying dead on the floor and Hunter McCormick holding a gun.

"Drop the gun, McCormick!" Gibbs ordered. McCormick didn't drop his gun, but he did start explaining.

"I let him kill Tompkins; I was here with Burns when he shot him. Me and his sister, Rachel had a fling back in High School. I was going to propose to her but this son of a bitch came here to tell me that I can't propose to her and to leave her alone. I love Rachel, so I killed him. I always get what I want."

Gibbs was still holding his gun when he said,

"Not always, drop the gun!" Gibbs looked at Tony who was behind McCormick. Before Tony had a chance to react, McCormick knocked the gun out of Tony's hand, grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out to the balcony. Gibbs ran out as fast as he could because he knew that Tony didn't have enough strength to fight.

"Let him go McCormick!" Gibbs ordered.

"With pleasure Agent Gibbs." McCormick said as he pushed Tony off the seven foot balcony. Gibbs was worried about Tony but he kept his stare on McCormick along with his gun pointed at McCormick because Gibbs knew that if he moved, McCormick would shoot him. Gibbs heard Tony hit the ground only seconds later and wince in pain.

"I always get what I want." McCormick said as he started to raise his gun at Gibbs. When Gibbs saw McCormick raise his gun, he put three rounds through McCormick's chest. When McCormick fell after being shot, Gibbs ran over to him and felt his neck to check for a pulse. Once Gibbs determined that McCormick was dead, he ran down to check on Tony.

"Tony, you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine." Tony said with pain in his voice.

"Tony you don't look fine." Gibbs said as he helped Tony up. The moment Tony stood on his feet; he fell right back down to the ground and winced in pain,

"Ah, ow!"

"You okay?" Gibbs asked nervously as he bent down.

"Oh just peachy, I think I either broke or sprained my ankle." Tony said as he pulled his right shoe off. When Tony got his shoe off, Gibbs could clearly see that Tony's ankle was dislocated but could not tell if it was broken. Gibbs got up and started walking towards Hunter's then said to Tony,

"Wait here."

"Where are you going?" Tony asked but expected to not get an answer. When Gibbs got inside the store he looked around for the first aid section. When he found it, he grabbed a bandage that he could wrap Tony's ankle in so he could walk. Gibbs walked back out and saw Tony lying on the ground, pointing his finger in the air and saying,

"13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 …"

"What the hell are you doing?" Gibbs asked.

"Counting stars, I got bored." Tony replied. Gibbs smiled then bent down to Tony and said,

"Tony you know I have to set your ankle back in place before I can wrap it." Tony sat up, looked at his injured ankle then looked at Gibbs and said,

"Do it, let's this over with." Gibbs grabbed Tony's foot and ankle and said,

"Here we go." After a few tries and some sounds of pain from Tony, Gibbs finally got Tony's ankle set.

"Should we sleep at Hunter's since we know that the killer's dead?" Tony asked while Gibbs was wrapping his ankle.

"No we need to try and get back to the car." Gibbs said.

"And how do you suggest we do that if I can't walk, Gibbs?" Tony asked. Gibbs finished wrapping Tony's ankle then stood up and said,

"I'll help you get there." Gibbs held his hand out to help Tony up. It wasn't until Tony leaned heavily into Gibbs side and started shaking that Gibbs remembered Tony was also sick not just injured. Tony and Gibbs walked for nearly thirty minutes before Tony said,

"Boss I need to stop." Gibbs stopped walking and looked around the area for a spot to rest while Tony gripped his shoulder tightly trying not to lose his balance. Gibbs spotted an area by some trees and started walking in that direction. He lowered Tony down against a tree then sat down next to the tree next to him.

"So why did you really come to work if you were sick?" Gibbs asked.

"Honestly, I just love my job and co-workers. You guys are like the family I never had." Tony said.

"Yeah you had a pretty hard childhood didn't you?"

"Yeah." Tony said as he looked at the ground. "My mom died when I was eight and I really think my dad could care less about me. Honestly, I wish my dad was more like you. You actually care about my well-being and my feelings, just like you do for the rest of the team." Gibbs looked at Tony and said,

"Last month when your dad came to the office, I didn't give him a tour. I brought him to the conference room to talk to him about you." Tony looked up at Gibbs with a nervous look on his face that asked, 'What did you tell him?'

"I told him that you hide behind the face of a clown."

"I don't like clowns boss." Tony interrupted. Gibbs stared at him until Tony said,

"Sorry continue."

"I also told him that you're the best young agent I've ever worked with." Tony looked Gibbs in the eye and said,

"That really means a lot to me, Gibbs. I learned from the best."

"So did I."

"Franks?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, you know he still calls me probie?" Gibbs asked. Tony laughed and said,

"I wonder if I'll still be calling McGee, Probie when he's your age." Gibbs looked at Tony, who stopped laughing when he met Gibbs eyes. Gibbs smiled, then squeezed Tony's shoulder and said,

"Let's try and get some sleep."


	6. Chapter 6

Tony and Gibbs had been asleep for an hour and a half when a squirrel from the tree that Tony was sleeping on, knocked a pinecone out of the tree and hit his injured ankle. Tony woke up immediately from the sharp pain.

"Ah!" The sound of Tony wincing in pain woke Gibbs up.

"What happened?" Gibbs asked.

"The tree is throwing pinecones at me." Tony replied. Gibbs looked up at the tree and saw the squirrel.

"It's a squirrel DiNozzo." Gibbs said. Tony looked up at the tree and said,

"I knew that." Gibbs rubbed his eyes then said,

"Come on, we gotta try to get back to the sedan."

"How am I gonna get there Gibbs? I can still barely walk." Tony said. Gibbs stood up and said,

"I'll help you get there, come on." Tony grabbed Gibbs' left shoulder while Gibbs grabbed Tony under his right arm to help him up. Tony kept a firm grip on Gibbs' shoulder to try and steady himself while Gibbs adjusted his arm so his hand was on Tony's back. Once Tony could stand again, they started walking towards the sedan again. About twenty minutes passed before Gibbs said,

"I think I see the car." Tony looked at him then looked straight ahead and said,

"You sure boss?"

"Why wouldn't I be sure?"

"Well it's just, I know that your eye sight isn't the best and …" Gibbs interrupted Tony by slapping him in the back of his head.

"What I meant to say was, yes I think that's the car." Tony said with relief. Once they reached the car, Gibbs opened the passenger side door of the car then lowered Tony down in to the car. After Gibbs helped Tony get in the car, he walked over to the driver's side. Once Gibbs was in the car he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number then said,

"McGee, Burns and McCormick are lying dead at Hunter's. Take Ziva with you, call Ducky and get out here …Tony's with me I'm taking him to the ER … yeah he's fine McGee he might've broken his ankle but he's okay." Gibbs hung up only to have his phone ring seconds later.

"Yeah Gibbs … He's fine Abby … Bethesda, why … Abby?" Gibbs looked at his phone, put it away then started the car.

"Abby's freaking out isn't she?" Tony asked.

"Yup." Gibbs replied as he pulled on to the road. Back at NCIS headquarters, the elevator opened and Ziva stepped out. She slowly and tiredly walked in to the squad room and saw McGee at his desk.

"It's 0430 McGee."

"Yeah I know." McGee said as he grabbed his backpack, badge, and gun. When Ziva turned around to walk to her desk to grab her gear she said,

"Where are we going so early?"

"Hunter's, Gibbs called saying that Burns and McCormick are dead and to come and take of it."

"You call Ducky?" Ziva asked as she grabbed her backpack and hat.

"Yep, he and Palmer are already on route."

"Where's Tony?" Ziva asked as she and McGee walked to the elevator.

"Gibbs said he's taking Tony to the ER … "Before McGee got a chance to tell Ziva that Tony was fine, Ziva interrupted him.

"Why, is Tony okay?"

"Yeah he's fine he just thinks he broke his ankle."

"Ouch." Ziva said as the elevator doors closed.

"Did I mention that I hate hospitals?" Tony asked Gibbs.

"About four times." Gibbs said.

"Sorry, I just don't have the best memories from my last trip to Bethesda." Tony said as he thought of how miserable he felt last year when he was sick from mnemonic plague. Gibbs glanced at Tony then looked back at the road and said,

"Well you're not infected with y-pestis this time, I just want you to get your ankle looked at."

"I didn't get a good look at it after McCormick pushed me over the balcony. Did it look bad?"

"Just looked dislocated from what I could see." Gibbs said. Tony moved his foot up so he could look at his injured ankle. He and Gibbs drove for another hour before they reached Bethesda. Gibbs stopped the car once he reached the entrance to the ER. He got out and walked to the other side of the car to help Tony get inside the ER. Gibbs opened the car door while Tony unbuckled his seat belt. Once Tony slowly swung his legs out of the car, Gibbs grabbed Tony's arm to pull him up and out of the car. As Gibbs was pulling him out of the car, Tony had a tight grip on Gibbs shoulder so he wouldn't fall. Gibbs was trying to get Tony steady on his feet when he heard a familiar voice call their names.

"Tony! Gibbs!" Abby yelled as she ran towards them from her car. Abby saw Tony standing so she ran towards Tony and threw herself into his side since Tony was holding on to Gibbs shoulder and only had one arm available.

"Abby." Tony winced.

"Yeah?"

"I can't breathe." Tony said still wincing. Abby pulled away and said,

"Sorry, I'm just so glad you're okay. Well I guess you're not completely okay, if you were completely okay then Gibbs wouldn't be helping you walk and …"

"Abbs." Gibbs said cutting her off.

"Right, sorry." Abby said as she grabbed Tony's arm, ducked under it and put it over her shoulder. Once Abby had her arm around Tony, all three of them started walking into the ER. Abby let go of Tony once they got inside and ran to the reception desk to tell them what was going on. Gibbs smiled at Abby as he lowered Tony down into a chair in the waiting room and then sat down himself in the chair next to Tony.

"How are you feeling?" Gibbs asked.

"Better now that Abby's here too." Tony replied. Gibbs looked at Tony and said,

"Yeah Abby can definitely make a person feel better."

"Yes she can." Tony said as he leaned back in his chair. "She gave me flowers when she felt bad about almost sending me to jail."

"I thought she did get you sent to jail when Chip tried to frame you." Gibbs said as Abby walked up to them with a clipboard and said,

"I didn't send him to jail for good, Gibbs." Abby sat down and handed the clipboard to Tony so he could fill it out. She took the clipboard back to the desk when Tony was done filling it out. Abby, Tony and Gibbs waited for twenty minutes before a nurse came into the room and said,

"Tony DiNozzo?" Abby and Gibbs stood up and grabbed Tony's arms to help him up. They led him to the wheelchair that the nurse had with her and sat back down. Abby and Gibbs waited for thirty minutes when Gibbs' phone rang.

"Yeah Gibbs … hey Duck … yeah Tony's fine he just hurt his ankle … I was gonna let him stay at my place anyway … yeah I'll tell him Duck." Before Gibbs finished his conversation with Ducky, Abby took Gibbs cell phone out of his hand and put it against her ear and said,

"Hi Ducky … yeah I was thinking about that too … really? I broke my ankle when I was ten … well you see, I was pretending that this tree was a mountain and …" Gibbs took his cell phone out of Abby's hand and hung up. Abby looked at Gibbs and said,

"That wasn't very nice, Gibbs." Gibbs looked at her and smiled. Ten minutes later, Tony came back in to the ER waiting room. He hobbled over to Abby and Gibbs and said,

"Well I have the flu and a broken ankle, lucky me." Abby stood up, hugged Tony and said,

"You poor thing, I didn't know that you were sick too."

"Abby not that I don't love your hugs but I think now's a good time to remind you that the flu is contagious." Tony said. Abby pulled away and said,

"Well I am going to go to Gibbs' house and help him take care of you." Tony had a confused look on his face as he turned to look at Gibbs.

"You need someone to take care of you, Tony. Plus I was gonna let you stay at my place anyway since you said that the boiler in your apartment broke." Gibbs said.

"Thanks boss, that's really nice of you." Tony said. Gibbs smiled as he stood up. He looked at Tony and said,

"And Abby's gonna join us."

"Yes, thank you Gibbs!" Abby said as she hugged Gibbs. When Abby let go of him, Gibbs looked back at Tony and asked,

"You need help getting back to the car?"

"Nah, I think I'll be fine." Tony said as he started hobbling to the door. Gibbs saw Tony struggling to walk so he grabbed Tony's arm to make him stop moving then pulled Tony's arm over his shoulder and patted Tony's back as he placed his hand on Tony's back. Abby looked at Tony and said,

"I'll drive my car to Gibbs' house and meet you guys there in an hour." With that said, Abby walked to the doors and out of the ER. Once Abby left, Gibbs and Tony made their way to the sedan. Gibbs walked Tony to the passenger side of the car and started to open the door, but Tony closed it and let go of Gibbs' shoulder and leaned against the car. Then he looked Gibbs in the eye and said,

"Thanks for letting me stay at your place, Gibbs, and for all your help tonight. Would it be weird if I hugged you?" Gibbs didn't answer; instead he gave Tony a hug. He patted Tony's shoulder then pulled back, looked Tony in the eye and said,

"No." Gibbs walked around to the other side since Tony could stand better with a boot on. Tony just stood there hanging on to the car with a confused look on his face until Gibbs said,

"You coming DiNozzo?" Tony smiled as he got in to the shotgun seat and buckled his seatbelt. He closed the door then looked at Gibbs and said,

"Yeah I'm coming." Gibbs smiled as he started the car and drove in the direction of his house.

"This day was definitely messed up, but I'm kind of glad it happened." Tony thought to himself as he leaned his head back on the headrest to rest his eyes.


End file.
